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The Orphan Master's Son
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Johnson, Adam; The Orphan Master's Son; "Relaxed Buddy Read" Start Date 4th November 2013
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(last edited Nov 10, 2013 02:44AM)
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Note: there is no discussion leader (and questions) for this buddy read, but if you show the section you are referring to becore making comments it means that we don't need to worry too much about spoilers, and everyone is reading at about the same pace
CHAPTER BREAKDOWN
Date Pages
November 04 01-38
Ends:"...at least knew each other's fates and they'd never be alone"
November 05 39-90
Starts:”There were many kidnappings to come…”
Ends:"Will we ever find them?"
November 06&07 91-175
Starts:”JUN DO dreamed of sharks biting him…”
Ends:"...further is known of the citizen named Pak Jun Do"
break day
November 09 176-217
Starts:”Part Two The Confessions of Commander Ga…”
Ends:"...Pain, what was pain?"
November 10 218-259
Starts:”CITIZENS, we bring good news! In your kitchens…”
Ends:"...tears spilled slowly, slowly, she began to chew"
November 11 260-307
Starts:”CITIZENS, come, gather ‘round the loudspeakers…”
Ends:"...”Don’t worry,”he said. “My plan won’t be like that.”"
November 12 308-342
Starts:”I was awake in the middle of the night…”
Ends:"...”Into his ear, she whispered, “Let’s escape.”.”"
break day
November 14 343-387
Starts:”CITIZENS! Open you windows and cast your eyes…”
Ends:"...no one can make such a promise.”
November 15 388-end
Starts:”COMMANDER GA smoked on the balcony…”
*PPDQs = Person Posting Discussion Questions
Note: Page numbers are based on this
paperback version of the book
Mod
Going to download this today. Since we will be away for a few weeks before Novemeber 4th, this will be a good read while traveling. Although if it's that good, I may opt to sit in our hotel room and not see any of the sights of Eastern Europe. LOL
Mod
Eastern Europe has beautiful sights! At least in the pictures and news they have. One of my college dreams was to do it by train but never got the funds necessary for that. Enjoy!
You can opt for the audio version and have both :o)
Karen wrote: "Haha - maybe lock it away so you can only be tempted to read at night ;)"Karen - Yes that's a good idea except I might need toothpicks to keep my eyes open
Sonia wrote: "Eastern Europe has beautiful sights! At least in the pictures and news they have. One of my college dreams was to do it by train but never got the funds necessary for that. Enjoy!
You can opt f..."
Sonia - since our daughter graduated from college, almost 15 years ago, I made traveling one of our top priorities. I don't shop much - clothes and shoes don't do it for me soooooooo as long as I can feed my book needs, we save money to travel. I hope that one day you can also get to do the things you want to do and travel to the places you want to visit.
Thanks. I have other priorities for now, but I'm slowly trying to add traveling, even if for short periods to the bunch
Glad to hear that traveling is in the future.
You know I am in. I hope people will join in on this one.
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Hey Karen, do you mind doing the page breakdown, since you have the physical book?I only have the ebook version, and since the book has no chapters *sighs* is not an easy task to do it.
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I was able to download the audiobook today, so I will start with that. I'm first on the hold list for the book...hopefully whoever has it now will finish and return it quickly! :)
I've read it. It's a great one. Interested in the discussion.
I just checked this out from the library last week, I'd love to join.
I have not read these books but they have come highly recommended if you are interested in some non fiction on life in North Korea - The Aquariums of Pyongyang: Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag and Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West. Believe the atrocities people -
may be a work of fiction and people have questioned the validity of the horror but the author has claimed to lighten the atrocities in his tale.
I think I'll have to skip this one :( bad timing at work I'll have to cut some reading time.
Mod
I also recently read this and am interested in discussion. :)
Pages 1-38 - My thoughts:I was surprised Jun Do did not even seem to consider to deflect with his partner in crime after kidnapping Rumina. And then it was sad he made his partner return with him. He doesn't even seem to be able to really question what he is told to do - he just does things because he feels he must. I wonder if it is a sense of duty to his country or if he is afraid of what may happen if he were to ever question anything. Being raised in this world I wonder how your brain even develops the ability to reason out these things when it doesn't seem like there is much individual choice in things. I am already horrified and don't know fact from fiction. I wonder if these North Koreans really are kidnapping Japanese people to come serve the elite. Crazy stuff. And these camps - are we standing by and have we been allowing atrocities to go on in a country while we turn a blind eye?
Sarah, I had the same thoughts about Jun Do's lack of action when he had the chance. He clearly longs for something more. I've read the first couple of sections and the overwhelming sense of fatality (i.e., no matter what I do I am stuck in this life) is so sad. If these kidnappings actually do happen, I wonder if any precautions are being taken or if any attempts at rescue occur. (I am sadly uneducated about this topic.)
While thinking about Sarah and Sandy's comments, I was struck by this: "Jun Do, in his hold, only received. He'd never transmitted in his life. He was secretly building a transmitter on shore, and the closer he got to completion, the more nervous he became over what he'd say into it."
To me, this addresses exactly what y'all are saying...that Jun Do is only a tool right now, receiving and carrying out whatever orders he is given. It also holds out some hope to me that he will break free of this in the future and exert some control over his own decisions and actions. (Or maybe I'm reading too much into it, haha!)
ETA: I wish I had a page number to give you, but I'm reading a large print version right now while I wait on my hold (it's page 89 there). It is in the second days reading if that helps at all.
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Ends:"...at least knew each other's fates and they'd never be alone"
Sarah - I am totally with you. I am shocked that (a) he didn't try to defect and (b) I have no idea if these kidnappings are based on what we beleive is the truth?!
As we got to the end of this part of reading I started to lose a bit of sympathy for Jun Do as he remembers the choices he also made in the orphanage. I think Sandy is right about that feeling of fatality, and also Becca about him being a "tool"
I found particularly heartbreaking that both women they stole are mothers (well, one that they just murdered and one they stole) and although Jun Do registers this fact he still doesn't seem to have developed any empthy or sympathy for them or their families.
As much as I am suckered into this book so far, I'm also completely horrified by it.
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http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21...
So sad
Karen wrote: "November 04 01-38 Ends:"...at least knew each other's fates and they'd never be alone"Sarah - I am totally with you. I am shocked that (a) he didn't try to defect and (b) I have no idea if these..."
He doesn't seem to have much feeling for anyone at all, does he?
Karen wrote: "Seems the kidnapping of Japanese by North Koreans is based on truth:http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21...
So sad"
I would think this is an act of a war crime. I am just so surprised nothing has been done by other countries but it just goes to show wars hide behind human injustice -even WWII - all it really is about is special interests and money and resources.
Becca - I think you are right - but I can hardly blame him. He is brought up in a very very traumatic world - a lot of people I think would have to disassociate just to survive - emotionally.
Also growing up this way I think there is a lot of desensitization.
Sarah wrote: "Becca - I think you are right - but I can hardly blame him. He is brought up in a very very traumatic world - a lot of people I think would have to disassociate just to survive - emotionally."Oh, I absolutely agree, just saying that it isn't really that surprising that he doesn't care (at least outwardly) about what happens to the people he is taking. He probably doesn't even really see it as him doing something to them. In his mind he is simply taking an action in response to an order he was given, like a robot...the consequences are not his fault. (That may be reading a lot into the character, but that's my take on it so far.)
I also don't necessarily get the sense that the decisions he made regarding which orphans slept in which bed and which jobs they did were malicious in any sense of the word. More like, someone has to sleep in the beds away from the fire, so he had to choose someone. Just as he is simply a piece of the machine, so are they - none of them are people.
Also I think it plays into his name as representing this concept - our use of John Doe - of an unidentified person - as this character and North Koreans as a whole - having not the idea of the individual but a duty to there country and leadership as a conglomerate of people. Also this idea of orphans as representing the people of North Korea as well, not belonging to a family but belonging to their country as a people to loyally serve and sacrifice what is dictated to them.
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Sarah - that is also a good insight that the country is not about the individuals. Most of the time this should be a good thing, but obviously they have taken it to the extreme
Pages 39-90
Starts:”There were many kidnappings to come…”
Ends:"Will we ever find them?"
Sorry I'm far behind, but I was finishing our BOM. I found this section not *quite* as disturbing as the first, but again it shows how they are ruled by fear and how these fantastical stories are a part of their culture. The fact that Jun Do was willing to be eaten by a shark like that - holy moly! The role of women in this society is very concerning and we haven't met any yet, so I'm hoping that the next section will give us more insight. I quite liked this quote (pg74):
"The couple maried, had two children, and now Sun Moon is remote and melancholy and alone".... "Is that true?" he asked. "Do you know that's how she ended up?".
"That's how all wives end up" the Captain said"
I do like how Jun Do has a "family" with the ship. Perhaps his first. I wonder if he will find his mother? Or do you think this may just be a continual daydream of his?
Karen wrote: "I do like how Jun Do has a "family" with the ship. Perhaps his first. I wonder if he will find his mother? Or do you think this may just be a continual daydream of his?"When they started talking about family on the ship and he began participating with them, especially in such a risky way to protect them all, I was thinking that he has taken a step out of the collective - he is still a part of a whole, just a smaller whole. I was wondering if this is one step towards him becoming an individual.
I don't know about his mother. I got the impression that his dream of finding her is more something that holds him back than it is something that will be in his future.
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I've just started the next section and Iike how we've now met the (so far un named) second mate's wife. Actually almost everyone is unnamed (captain, interrogator etc.) which further enforces that collective ideal
Once again I am behind. Just haven't had the time to read lately:-(
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Starts:”JUN DO dreamed of sharks biting him…”
Ends:"...further is known of the citizen named Pak Jun Do"
I liked the humour in parts of this section. Page 103... "I've heard that.... American's do pointless labour for fun"
I was surprised when Jun Do ended up in Texas, but I also found that a turning point - particularly when he found the phone book and suddenly felt like he hated his "small backward homeland". I wonder how the camera that Wanda gave him will be relevant.
I was a bit shocked with the last line of this section. Does that mean he now becomes "Commander Ga"?! Wouldn't impersonating him be big trouble? I guess I need to keep reading to see what it all means
Karen wrote As much as I am suckered into this book so far, I'm also completely horrified by it.I agree. It's horrible and I can't look away. Also, this book is giving me very disturbing dreams!
Karen thank you for posting the article!
I really liked the Texas section. Imagine how amazing it was for Jun Do to have a hot shower, a full stomach and a clean, soft bed to sleep in. When
So far this book is enthralling, but very disturbing.
OK - I gotta read today. I want to see what happens - Texas? What? I shouldn't be reading the posts but I do.
Sarah wrote: "OK - I gotta read today. I want to see what happens - Texas? What? I shouldn't be reading the posts but I do."Yeah, that was unexpected but an interesting detour!
**Spoiler if you're not up to Nov. 10 discussion**So, I found it so odd that the Commander Ga imposter (Jun Do) is getting away with the impersonation.
Doesn't the Dear Leader know it's not really him?
What is the Dear Leader's motivation for allowing the charade to take place? Was the real Commander Ga a threat to him, and if so, wouldn't he just have him put away, or was he just too valuable an ally? I'm trying to make sense of this but remain confused!
And, how amazing was the scene with the rower?
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lol re Cathie Mathison!! yes I agree about Texas. Like when he ended up vomitting all that food because his body is not accustomed to having that much meat
Oh and I can't read your spoiler yet. I am 2 days behind :o
@Sarah - lol! stop reading the posts and start reading ;)
Nothing But Reading Challenges
Books mentioned in this topic
The Aquariums of Pyongyang: Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag (other topics)Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West (other topics)
The Orphan Master's Son (other topics)
The Orphan Master's Son (other topics)
BE PREPARED FOR SPOILERS
What is a Buddy Read?
For this buddy read we're going to add something new: each day will have less DQs and other readers can add their own to the set as they answer.
Book synposis
An epic novel and a thrilling literary discovery, The Orphan Master’s Son follows a young man’s journey through the icy waters, dark tunnels, and eerie spy chambers of the world’s most mysterious dictatorship, North Korea.
Pak Jun Do is the haunted son of a lost mother—a singer “stolen” to Pyongyang—and an influential father who runs Long Tomorrows, a work camp for orphans. There the boy is given his first taste of power, picking which orphans eat first and which will be lent out for manual labor. Recognized for his loyalty and keen instincts, Jun Do comes to the attention of superiors in the state, rises in the ranks, and starts on a road from which there will be no return.
Considering himself “a humble citizen of the greatest nation in the world,” Jun Do becomes a professional kidnapper who must navigate the shifting rules, arbitrary violence, and baffling demands of his Korean overlords in order to stay alive. Driven to the absolute limit of what any human being could endure, he boldly takes on the treacherous role of rival to Kim Jong Il in an attempt to save the woman he loves, Sun Moon, a legendary actress “so pure, she didn’t know what starving people looked like.”
Part breathless thriller, part story of innocence lost, part story of romantic love, The Orphan Master’s Son is also a riveting portrait of a world heretofore hidden from view: a North Korea rife with hunger, corruption, and casual cruelty but also camaraderie, stolen moments of beauty, and love. A towering literary achievement, The Orphan Master’s Son ushers Adam Johnson into the small group of today’s greatest writers